Wujal Wujal's New Wifi Brings Vital Communication Link

In cyclone-prone far north Queensland, a new community-wide wifi network has been installed in the state’s smallest shire in a bid to solve problems during severe storms that often leave the town of Wujal Wujal completely isolated.

Wujal Wujal on Cape York Peninsula suffers major challenges during heavy rain, with all roads out of town routinely cut off, and the Bloomfield River often flooding and dividing the town.

In addition, the phone service in the Indigenous community was unreliable during severe weather.

The new Wujal Wujal Emergency Management Network aims to solve those issues allowing residents to receive emergency warnings if the mobile network failed.

Image: article supplied

Functioning like a home wireless network, it has been designed to withstand extreme weather events with contingencies in place if an access point goes down, meaning the network can remain up.

Mayor Desmond Taley said he was “very relieved” the Australian-first system had been installed in time for cyclone season.

“I think the community will be very happy … people are very used to using telecommunication,” he said.

“When the first rains come in our landline goes out … [and] even in the dry season, we get high cloud cover and that always creates a problem for telecommunication.

“It’s going to change the way we do communication within this community.”

The project included a community noticeboard that council and emergency services could use to share warnings.

Residents could also use it as a forum to communicate with each other and the council about anything they wished.

Another benefit — because everyone is connected by a high-speed network — phone calls could now be made to other members of the community for free.